Website News Archive.
The ATO website has been down for awhile, and might be down for quite a while more. I've always liked
ATO, and I, for some reason, copied and saved all this material off their website when it was still available. Something told me I should...weird. Anyways, here's a bunch of stuff...Peer into the mind of Derek Terror!!! -LEVI BAILEY

manifesto.
a (not so) quick history. sock and brendon got together after seeing each other at shows, with the intention of starting a new band. sock was going to play bass and brendon had been playing drums for another band, stink. they went through a couple guitar players in just a few practices, dfj* wrote a couple of the first songs with them. as for the singer, i think they had jim first, but then for some reason sock came into the tattoo shop one day and asked if i'd like to come to practice and check it out. so i hung around for a few practices and watched some of the raddest bass and drum thrash i had ever seen. it was awesome, and i wanted to put words to it. we ran through a month or so of practices like that when penguin joined in on guitar. he picked up all the songs in, like, fifteen minutes or something incredible like that. we had about eight songs at this point, but the amount of lyrics per song was leaving me gasping. so rachel joined us , just a few days before i first show, and helped take over on the vocals. she also gives us that perspective that we were wanting, and couldn't get on our own. our first show was july 13th '03 and we've pretty much played every a show every week since then. crazy.

as for the name. sock came up with 'gore orphanage' right away, but it was open it debate. some loved it, and some thought it didn't fit. at this same time a new tattoo shop opened right around the corner, it's name, 'the orphanage'. so we thought about other possibilities. we soon settled on 'another terrorist organization', for a whole slew of reasons. i think the first reason is just because when people heard it they were like, 'what was that!?!' it was a bit of a shock, due to all this 'war on terror' nonsense. the most important reason, to me, was because of what our government is doing to us now, because of this war on terror. in february of 2003 a new bill was introduced to texas legislature, ‘the animal and ecological terrorism act'. the act was created by the american legislative exchange council (the a.l.e.c. has corporate sponsors such as phillip morris, enron and several major oil companies) and is intended for use in all u.s. states. the act criminalizes virtually all forms of environmental and animal-rights advocacy. this act was so well received in texas that it was adopted in new york a month later. mississippi , wisconsin and washington are now showing interest. anyone could be considered a terrorist if they were to participate in any legitimate peaceful protest, civil disobedience, demonstration or debate towards environmental or animal welfare. similarly, giving money or contributing in any form to these ‘terrorist cells' would be punishable. the act also sets up a state run website that is similar to that of sex offenders, where eco-terrorists and animal-rights activists would have to supply their name, address and current photo for three years. and finally, no journalist would be allowed into any facility to photograph or record and information to be used to defame the facility in any way, so all those dirty little companies out there will now be safe behind their big walls and barbed wire fences. the majority of our band do not eat animals. the majority of our band, have taken, or are willing to take to the streets in support of that which cannot represent itself. animals have no say. they have become expendable bio-machines. the earth has no say. it is here for us to use and abuse for profit and comfort. is this what humanity has come down to, profit over everything else? it is illogical...that is not our way. we are terrorists. and this is another terrorist organization.

Thursday, August 05, 2004
we made it back from the tour a few days ago. i needed a couple days to get back to normal before i got on here and recapped everything.

the grand rapids show went very well. loaded for bear killed everyone in sight. it was beautiful.

the palmer hall show in muskegon was alright. there was some needless drama that brought the mood down, but that's muskegon - unfortunately. the bands were all good though. i'm an aneurysm fan.

chicago was awesome we were there for two days. the first night we played in bill's (loaded for bear) garage and it was awesome. a two piece band from around there played and awesome set. i hate throwing comparisons out there, but they were along the lines of the mars volta , but tweeked a bit. amazing. their name was i,barabbas - however you spell it. we were treated to a very good meal and comapny. we slept behind a school that night. the next day we didn't have a show, so we went to the cement skatepark right off lakeshore drive - spent the day skating and swimming. spoonful of vicodin found a basement show that human order was playing at. we missed it, but they said it was awesome.

west virginia 's show was out in the middle of nowhere outside martinsburg. i object was playing went we got there - about three hours late. the fog through pennsylania was horrible and slowed us down tremendously. but the show was fun. we were paid five dollars in quarters and we were too late for the vegan cookies and fudge. damn. we slept at ian's house again. he put us up last time we were in his neighborhood.

york pennsylvania was a shock. sock went to prison for about six hours. yes, prison. when you get caught doing naughty things in pennsylvania they take you directly to jail. but york has no jail since they already have a big prison, so sock went there instead. he was given a shower, they washed his clothes and let him watch t.v. we played the show with phill on bass to get money to bail sock out. 400 bucks! uzi suicide played that night. that was the first of four or so shows with them. amazing. we spent the night sleeping in the yard of the house we played at. they had a decent mini ramp.

buffalo was the next show. it was at a little info shop. they had tofu in their free store, so sock grabbed that - without going to prison. we skated for a bit. the turnout was good. someone kicked high enough during the last band to kick a hole in the ceiling tile! sweet. the punx had a sweet house there with about 15 people living in it, and everything ran well. i'm in awe. buffalo is a nice place. we slept in syracuse at shana's house. i think i spelled her name wrong. i slept outside the school across the street and was rudely awoken by the summer school staff bright and early. again, syracuse has some of the best graffiti.

portland , maine was a bit of a drive. it was way beautiful though. we saw the ocean and ate amazing vegan food at little lads or lil' lads. their ice cream was perfect. the show was put on by the ten fingers collective, kudos to them. we met a bunch of wonderful people, the show was great. it was digitally recorded, so hopefully we hear something of that in the future. a band called the syndicate played, they were rad. they were all girls, with a violin in the mix. after the show we went out into the middle of nowhere to a covered bridge. i was the first to jump off it into the darkness of the night and into the river below. it was awesome. we slept next to the river and were awoken at 6 in the morning by the cops. they checked i.d.'s and told us to scram.

boston was next. because of the democratic national convention and f.b.i. involvement the show got moved many times. it ended up being at an illegal practice space, ninja style. it was a pretty low turn out because of the moves, but we had fun playing for our friends and others. i think we made 10 bucks. we stayed with ann that night. she treated us to the grasshopper, which is an amazing vegan place. it was expensive as shit, but totally worth it. brendon even dug it. we slept in a bed. good times.

then on to rochester . we played at an indoor skatepark, bands got to skate for free. so i skated like mad until we played. dumb idea. i thought i was going to die. sock felt like he weas going to die. moral was low, but it was a fun as hell show. fatality, the destrux and thumb's up played. all was good. that night we went to sarah spoonful's mom's house. we relaxed and got some pasta. then we went to wade's apartment. . . .

. . . side note on wade. first off, wade is the best. he came with spoonful of vicodin. wade is as old as i am. he's diabetic like i am. he like s alot of the smae bands i do. he brought the ludicra c.d. along on the trip. wade works at the atomic eggplant in rochester , and he lives above the bugjar. he's got it made. after wade's apartment we went to the atomic eggplant where we were treating like royalty. meg owns the place. she's 23 and the best cook i have ever encountered! she makes everything there except for the peanut butter and tortillas. amazing! we were treated to freash homemade chips and salsa with black bean dip, fresh french fries, miso soup, lentil soups, fresh salad and a variety of dressings. we had burrito's and barbequed tofu, i couldn't even move afterward. everyone got to the atomic eggplant the next time you're anywhere near the rochester area. it's totally worth the drive. and it's right around the corner from the bugjar and the abundance healthfood shop. i want to live there now. thank you meg for the food and thank you wade for ruling the trip. you are awesome!

. . . that night we slept at ben's (the destrux) house on his kitchen floor. he is way rad too. thanks ben.

then we went to olean , n.y. we played at tyler 's cabin with splag, i object, uzi suicide, skate korpse, the bear, open face and the ever killer spoonful of vicodin. it was out last show of the tour with them. we loved traveling with them, eating with them, getting into streetfights with them - the whole nine yards. tim and sarah are real. and that's refreshing to see in bands these days. their music is incredible. everytime i listen to their stuff i play it at least 40 times, and that's no only because the demo is under two minutes long either. they're awesome. we went swimming and posed for tour pictures. everyone said their goodbyes and we loaded up and came back to g.r. with joe (forever youth). he'd been riding in the spoonful van the whole trip. joe set up the tour, so many thanks to him. it went well. other than sock going to prison there was no real drama. it was sweet.

the next day we came back and played a quick set at 10 weston again. the show was a forever youth tour benefit. greedy fuckers. kidding. but it was all dramatic and shit, just like muskegon was before we left. it was depressing. it's like we're trying desperately to hold onto a quickly dying dream. i'm tired of the drama around here. the shows are mostly bummers. people are too negative. dependant on too many drugs. too proud and too stubborn. everyone needs to relax. i am right now. we got asked to play a september 11th show in saginaw last night. i think that's the next show we're going to play. i need a break from the drama. i think everyone does. everyone needs to stop the infighting. it's pointless. all the shows in other cities and states were fun. nice places, nice people. then you come back home to the same old same old. being on tour is rough a lot of the time, but geting out there and doing your thing is a great feeling. coming back to fighting isn't a great feeling. can't we all just get along?

thanks for coming to check us out. thanks for picking up a c.d., button or patch. thanks for listening to what we had to say, for giving us a chance. thanks for the places to stay and for the food that kept us going. thanks to spoonful and wade, i object and uzi suicide, the shows and the kids. oh yeah, and fuck the police!

eric's other band 'the sequoia outlaws ' are playing tomorrow night at skelletones with some other metally bands. check it out if you can. come out and say hi. we'll see you at the show.

posted by derek  # 3:54 PM

Friday, July 23, 2004

i found out last night that we're playing at a skate park in rochester . so rochester kids, go to the skatepark. apparently you have to wear helmets though. that sucks. but we're also playing at some dudes house in york, p.a. and he's got a mini ramp in his house. so much skating is going down. it's now the a.t.o./spoonful of vicodin skateboarding summer tour extravaganza! much fun and much skating will be had. to everyone else, show us skate spots in your town and we will do sweet tricks there. thank you.

posted by derek  # 3:04 PM

Thursday, July 22, 2004

the c.d.s are done. hopefully the buttons are done. and i think patches might get done. all of these things are supposed to be sold to get gas money right? well i spent a bunch of money of getting all these things together so we don't have much initial gas money. what a dork. i'm good at stuff like that.

um, show tonite at 10 weston. it probably starts at 6 or 7. the shows there have to be done by 10 or the people upstairs get angry. one guy on the third floor peed out his window a few weeks ago on everyone below. i was included in that everyone below. i don't know everyone who's playing tonite, but there's a bunch of 'em. it'll be awesome. and by awesome i mean totally sweet!

the show tomorrow is at palmer hall in muskegon . it's down on laketon. that's the best i can do as far as that goes. i'm bad with addresses. it'll start pretty early cuz there's seriously a million bands playing. every band will have a .25 second set, and we'll all be 900 years older by the end of the show, but it'll totally be worth it. all that matters to me is that i get to see loaded for bear for the next three nights in a row. holy crap that's rad!

i'll try and borrow somebody's computer while we're on tour to report what's happening, how bad the van stinks, but i'm a little to shy to ask for things like that most of the time. i'll give it a shot though. we'll see you in the next couple of days.

posted by derek  # 2:38 PM

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

we're going to record the vocals for the split with das gestapo tonight and i finished the layout earlier, so everything will be done real soon - in time for the tour.

the local shows for the tour are thursday and friday, in g.r. @ 10 weston and in muskegon @ palmer hall. check 'em out and say hi.

that's about it for now. it's hot outside, so snuggle up to that ice tea and crank up that fan. peace.

posted by derek  # 5:59 PM

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

happy birthday to us! happy birthday to us! happy birthday to uuuussssssss.......... happy birthday to us!

another terrorist organization had it's very first show with the fleshies and dirt e. twat on this day last year. since then i can't even keep track of all the shows we've played and all the bands we've played with, but we would just like to say that this last year has been fucking awesome! thank you to all the bands we've played with, to all the people who've put us up while on the road, everyone who's gone to our shows or listened to our c.d., everyone who's had kind words of encouragement or something shitty to say that has made us work harder. here's to the future!


also, it was on this day last year that we met claire for the first time. so happy anniversary claire, we love you!

posted by derek  # 5:20 PM

Monday, July 12, 2004

it's been a good mail day thanks to bret, brad and mark. lots of positive news. one of the best things about being part of a band is that you have this open avenue to throw ideas out there and see what happens. and when you throw those ideas out there and you hear that other people think the same things, or that people's views have been given a new angle to see things from - that's just awesome! so thank you from all of us for listening and for writing, you are the reason that the punk/hardcore scene is as amazing as it is. -derek

posted by derek  # 2:33 PM

Saturday, July 10, 2004

i hope this is the last thing i have to say for today, but we'll see. i just wanted to add that i learned last night that you can apply for disability in the state of michigan if you weigh 400 pounds or more. you will actually get paid to sit on your big ass and just chill. what the fuck!?! seriously, come on people. if you weigh 400 pounds or more you should get paid to get on a fitness program. if you weigh 400 pounds or more you should really cut back on those portions, watch what you eat. there's a little box on the side of all food products that tells you a recommended serving size. just because you have a bag of chips doesn't mean you have to eat the whole bag. we, the entire human race (but especially americans), need to get healthier. pay no attention to that atkins fucker either. all he's doing is getting you to deprive yourself of natural energy and train your body to do that which it isn't intended to do. fuck that dude! yeah, i said it - dude.

posted by derek  # 3:12 PM

i have more junk on my mind, based on the show the other night and last night's show at skelletones.

first, about the show the other night - i don't get it when you watch bands play or you talk to the people in certain bands and you can just tell that they can't wait to get big, they want to be famous. i don't get it. could someone maybe please explain it to me. email me and tell me to go to hell or whatever. a_t_o_go@hotmail.com. i've brought this up before in conversations, with people - not computers, and people say, 'well why are you in a band if not to be well known?' my answer: being in a band, making music with friends, and being able to play that music with, or for, our other friends is fun. it's better than watching television. it's better than a kick in the face too. we're not trying to be something we're not. we're just five dorks that hang out and write songs. there was a kid at the show the other night that was standing outside talking about how rad his band is and all the endorsements that they have. he couldn't stop talking about it. and when he was interupted he found created ways to segue back into talking about their endorsements. when they played last night they were bigger than life, so dramatic! the air was thick with endorsed presence. you are just people. not like the god that you sing so many songs about. just kids. why would you want to lift yourselves above being just kids playing music? we raise musicians and actors up onto these pedestals and blush and get nervous when they are around. why?

second, having more to do with that kid i mentioned above. he was outside the show last night surrounded by curious folks who were listening to him answer questions about 'his god'. he's a very religious fellow who was into telling everyone that homosexuality is a perversion. and this perversion stems from pornography. you choose wether or not you are going to be gay, and if you choose to be gay then you turn away from god. this kid said that he won't allow himself to watch porn because before you know it you're watching porn with with girls having sex with girls, then girls and animals, and before you know it you'll want to fuck animals. wow. i've watched porn. and i don't think i've ever wanted to fuck a sheep. and if i did i would be turning away from god. this kid isn't going to have sex until he's married. and he wants his wife to be 'pure' until that time as well. they will have sex to make children and that's it, unless they willingly enter into sin. he said that god has talked to him directly. he has heard god's voice. god told him to stop doing coke and heroin. why is it that some of the most devout christians are recovering fuck-ups? anyway, god told him to get off the smack and he stopped instantly because god's word is law. he also said that god doesn't follow any rules or laws, so does that make god an anarchist? of course abortion is wrong. i still can't figure out why christian boys care so much about this being that god didn't give them ovaries. and finally this kid said that he believed in predestination, that god's plan is already laid out for him. but he couldn't give a solid answer as to why he prays. if god's plan is already laid out, if it's already in the books, what is his praying going to do? nothing. it's already said and done. and he acknowledges that this time is already laid out, yet he prays. weird. it makes no sense to me.

one of two things is going to happen sometime down the road for this kid. either he is going to grow up, experience some things and realize that maybe he drew some quick conclusions and burned too many bridges prematurely. or he's going to keep living this way and impose these beliefs on his children and the cycle will continue on. of course i'm hoping for the first senario, but it's unlikely. a shame.

i'll shut up again. right about now...

posted by derek  # 2:24 PM

okay, the show the other night was just weird. we played at skelletones, like we have done a billion times before, but this time was different. i don't know if everyone had just eaten a really big meal before they came to the show, or if they all had run all the way to the show because everyone looked like they were really busy digesting or letting the lactic acids build up inside their leg muscles. no one moved. not that it really bothers me, it was just weird because it normally doesn't happen like that. it was fun though, we had a good time. levi, from spit for athena, played an acoustic set that was incredible! we got to talk afterward and i'm excited to get to know both levi and brandy (i'm horrible with names, i hope i'm correct here) better. the culprits finished the evening out. i felt bad because they kept telling people to move closer and dance to no avail.

everyone go to the DAAC tonite, it's right down the street from skelletones. spit for athena is playing with a group that had the tag 'horror hip hop' under their name. sounds interesting. see you there!

i just re-read all of that. i think i'm getting dumber. i used to be able to speak properly. i used to make more sense. my apologies.

posted by derek  # 1:58 PM

"I don't eat meat, but i loves me i nice big plate of steaming hot copyrights." -Derek Terror